Complaint Review: Progressive Insurance - Mayfield Village Ohio

Thank you both for your recent comments to my post of over two years ago. Circumstances have changed and judgements are not necessary. My issue with Progressive Insurance has been over and done with for a long time, and life has moved on. There are more recent rip-off reports about this company and other companies that could use both of your input, my issue with Progressive Insurance is dead. There is no reason to beat this into the ground, there is nothing left, not even ashes. It's done - I let it go and moved on, both of you and everyone else should too. Patti

Just because you admit that you were not "educated" on insurance issues does NOT give you the right to cry rip off. You voluntarily entered into a business relationship with this insurance company. It is their responsibility to provide the agreed-upon insurance policy -- not to provide you with an education. With the wealth of information available on the internet and in the public library, there are many ways in which you could have educated yourself at no cost. Failing to learn even the basics was your personal choice, but is NOT the responsibility of the insurance agency.

Just because you admit that you were not "educated" on insurance issues does NOT give you the right to cry rip off. You voluntarily entered into a business relationship with this insurance company. It is their responsibility to provide the agreed-upon insurance policy -- not to provide you with an education. With the wealth of information available on the internet and in the public library, there are many ways in which you could have educated yourself at no cost. Failing to learn even the basics was your personal choice, but is NOT the responsibility of the insurance agency.

Just because you admit that you were not "educated" on insurance issues does NOT give you the right to cry rip off. You voluntarily entered into a business relationship with this insurance company. It is their responsibility to provide the agreed-upon insurance policy -- not to provide you with an education. With the wealth of information available on the internet and in the public library, there are many ways in which you could have educated yourself at no cost. Failing to learn even the basics was your personal choice, but is NOT the responsibility of the insurance agency.

Patti, I am a current Progressive employee and have to agree with you that the customer service provided to you was uncalled for. Being in customer service myself, I expect alot from myself and other companies. That being said, I wonder if you read your contract before signing it. You were also mailed a declarations page with in a few days of taking the policy out and should have reviewed it for errors and corrected them at that time. I'm sure you check your bank statements every month for accuracy, maybe you should practice this on any other binding contract you get yourself into.

Safeco, like every other automobile insurance company, will use location as a factor in your insurance premium. I know it is a bit of an inconvenience, but over $39.00 to say pretty much that progressive is ripping you off and they are giving you a valid reason for why there is the $39.00 difference. Personally, I tend to think of a ripoff as changing something for no reason, out right lying and so on. That's just my opinion.

David, our agent put in the wrong zip code when we purchased the insurance. Our city has three zip codes. We did not even find out about the incorrect zip code until the Progressive rep called a month later to verify our information. When the rep read off the zip code, I corrected him and that is when we found out that we would be charged $39 more. Perhaps we were not worldly at the time about how insurance rates are determined since we had been with Safeco for 15 years, and Safeco did not determine our rate by zip code,however, our agent should have disclosed to us how the rates were determined when we purchased the Progressive policy. Education is power, and and education on auto insurancewe did get.

The value of the vehicle doesn't always mean the rate is going to be higher. You be in $20,000 cheaper vehicle that is less safe, costs more to repair, can cause more damage to other vehicles, other people you may hit and youself if you are in the vehicle at the time of the accident. It's not hard to understand. I don't think I have ever came across an insurance company that says the location of the vehicle will not effect your rate. Most accidents happened close to the home, that means that location will be looked at. Crime as in vandalism and thefts in your area can cause rates to be a bit higher. My question is did you give the wrong zip code? I'm sure you would no the zip code of your own home. If you don't give accurate information, how do you expect an accurate rate. I agree, I would get mad at the rudeness aspect but if they were able to bend the rules for you, they would have to bend them for everyone and that bending it for one person would be illegal. Insurance companies must abide by the state and the guidelines or rules of their underwriting that they file with state insurance commissioner.

Cory, you have made a lot of sense and I know what you say is true. What I don't understand is that I drive the same car that would be the same to fix no matter what zip code that I live in and the premium was $39 less a mile and a half down the road which is still in an upscale neighborhood, actually a much nicer neighborhood than mine. The main point is that everything did work out, it is said and done and you and I both appear to be happy with our insurance coverage.

I had to laugh at your numpty thoughts too. I do not state anywhere in any of my posts that I could not pay my bills on time. As for living in a nice neighborhood, yes, I do but that does not mean that I am rich or living outside of my means. I merely stated that I did not have an "extra" $39 in the budget. A better thing for you to do would be to MYOB and not be so judjmental, it is not becoming to you. Just a fact... As I have already said, I have moved on past the Progressive issue and it is really old news and a moot point now.

I'm sorry, but I had to laugh a bit. You claim to live in an upscale area...a nice subdivision, but you don't have any extra money, and you're having trouble paying your bills on time? Doesn't sound like the root of the problem is Progressive making a mistake and asking for another 39 bucks per period, AND giving you another period at the lower rate. Perhaps it's time to live within your means.... Just a thought...

I wonder about those insurance rates sometimes too. Had a $12,000 truck. Bought a $30,000 truck. My rates went up $7 a month. Sold off the $30,000 truck and bought a $15,000 truck. The rates remained the same. As for the "better" zipcodes. Some people who live in better areas drive more expensive vehicles. They're more inclined to hire attorneys to sue other parties thereby driving the costs of settlements much higher. When they do have claims for losses, they're much higher. People in "lower" zips are less inclined to drive expensive vehicles, but not always. When they drive POS's they'll settle for peanuts. Just a fact of life. Kind of like the insurance companies basing your rates on your credit score.

I worked for Progressive Ins for about 8 years. The owner Peter B. Lewis is a thief, a scam and a greedy a$$ that will suck your money out of your pocket with a vacuum cleaner right before your eyes! All of the executives are also liars, cheaters and scammers because that's the only way they can receive their "BONUS'S" at the end of the year! The company is unethical and should be shutdown!

As I have already stated, each company is different, and each company determines premiums in a different way, and everyone has an opinion about insurance companies and the methods they use. All of this is fine, everyone is entitled to believe whatever they want to believe about how insurance companies determine the rates for premiums. We did find a much better company with much better coverage for $49.00 less than what Progressive was charging us and that is also our right. While I do not believe that Progressive is the best company out there, I also do not believe that they are the worst insurance company. Worse than the $39 rate increase that was imposed on us by Progressive based on zip code was the extremely rude customer service that Progressive provided to us. Had the customer service not been so bad, we probably would have put up with the rate increase for a month or two until we could find something that was more affordable for us, and I would not have been angry enough to make my original post. It is not that we didn't want to pay the extra $39; it was how rudely the customer service rep stated the increase, and the fact that we just could not work an extra $39 into our budget at that time. My original post was not meant to bash Progressive Insurance; it was meant to state that my opinion of the way the premium rates were determined by Progressive did not appear to be fair when I could live a mile and a half down the street and receive a $39 decrease in premium. Like everyone else, I am entitled to my opinion. Progressive is great for many people, and I have seen much worse insurance companies, however, Progressive was not the best for us so we moved on. One insurance company does not fit all.

All insurance companies base the premium in some way, shape, or form, based on what zip code the car will be kept in. They may not tell you that, but if you think the premium for the same car is the same across the country, do some price shopping of your current insurance holder online and you will see it is different. The premium for a car in nebraska will not be the same as LA or NYC.

While I do understand that some people file more claims than other people do, catagorizing everyone in certain neighborhoods is not the answer. I drive a Ford Taurus and that car is the same price to repair no matter what kind of neighborhood that I live in. A person that has a BMW or a Porche can live in a crappy neighborhood and pay less for insurance than I pay if I live in a good neighborhood and drive a normal sedan, drive carefully and have maybe one clain every ten years. I have since moved on past this, and have found much better insurance with a much better company that does not set premiums based on zip code but rather on a person's driving record so it really does not matter now.

I am an independent agent in Ohio and write insurance for Progressive. In your case the zip code caused a rate increase. When rates are set by an insurance company crime does factor into a rate but only a very small portion. A company looks at a particluar zip code and calculates their "loss experience" in that particular area. Sometimes a rural area will pay a lower rate than a major city sometimes a higher one. Its true that vehicle theft is a major concern for companies but only accounts for a very small amount of the total claims paid. In my experience, people living in "upscale" areas tend to turn in many more claims for higher amounts than those living in other areas. This is simply because they drive more valuable cars with full coverage insurance. In order to give you the best possible rate, Progressive rates by zip code and not county or state like other companies. That gives you the most specific rate and not a more general one. $39 is a small price to pay for living where you do.

Now we need zip codes for the bad cities and give the good parts different zip codes? Oh Please lady, stop your crying! I live at the most northern tip of a major city, ok, and most of the crime happens to the south of me, but am I free of higher rates because I happen to live in the same zone with crime running pampid??? NO- I pay high and the reason for that is because the dang insurance companies are sick and tired of paying out, especially with the sue happy generation today, out in full force- You park your car on a bad street, your car will either be stolen, or vandalized- FACT- The Insurance co is just covering their backside- And as for being placed on hold, I would of left you on there until you went bye bye- Crying over 39 extra bucks? A small price to pay indeed and there are more IMPORTANT things to worry about lady! When you pay 300 bucks a month for insurance then you may have the right to moan and cry wolfff- Till then, just shhhhhhhhhh & go lay down somewhere-

I find this very interesting as I have gone through a similiar situation with Progressive Insurance. They sent me a letter when my insurance renewed stating that my rates were going up because insurance rates were going up in the state of Ohio. I have not had any accidents or made any claims, either. A woman I work with also has Progressive, and her insurance renewed the same month as mine. I was discussing this with her and she said she'd received no such letter from Progressive, and that her rates were staying the same. This woman has a different zip code than mine, but Progressive said in the letter that insurance costs were rising in "the state of Ohio". There was no mention of zip code, so that didn't play a role in my particular experience. It's just curious that my friend at work (who lives in Ohio!) didn't receive any notice from Progressive about that Ohio insurance rate hike, and that her rate remained the same. Something doesn't seem quite right there. Long story short, I am searching for a new insurance company. I am wondering if anyone out there knows if this is something all insurance companies pull, or if this is just something Progressive came up with to try and get more money out of people? Good luck, (Wish me luck too!)

We received a notice from Progressive Insurance on 08/28/04 and a new declarations page stating that our premium has gone up effective September 2004 because our zip code was incorrect by one digit. They did raise our premium by $39.00 and the Pregressive rep had told me during his initial call that he "discussed this with my supervisor and your premium will not go up until the next term beginning January 26, 2005." The Progressive representative lied to me, bold face lied. and I will never believe another one of those people from Progressive Insurance again. Things like this make a person lose faith in the insurance industry and the sad thing is, the insurance companies don't care about their customers at all, just about the bottom line and will do whatever it takes to achieve it, even if what they do is dishonest. Progressive Insurance is no different than the low life slimeball snake oil salesman of the present day. More regulation is needed on the insurance companies.